1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to driving information display, and more particularly to a driving information display device that is able to be displayed in the driver's field of vision while driving.
2. Description of Related Arts
Taking your eyes off the road for a split second is all it takes to get into a vehicular accident, and this is especially true the faster the vehicle is traveling. Studies have shown that a fairly average reaction time for a human is approximately 0.75 seconds, and more often than not this reaction time can be more than this average due to external factors such as personal characteristics, alertness, and visual acuity. This 0.75 seconds may sound like very little but in combination with application of the brakes of a vehicle as well as the stopping distance required at certain speeds, even a driver following proper driving safety is still liable to cause an accident. For example, a car traveling at 65 miles per hour will travel approximately 70 feet in the 0.75 seconds during the reactionary processing. Additionally, it takes about 0.3 seconds to apply the brake, during which the car will travel approximately another 28 feet. And the stopping distance for a car under the best road conditions traveling at that speed is approximately 188 feet. So this means that under nearly ideal conditions an alert driver can avoid hitting obstacles that are no less than 300 feet away. When you add in various other external distractions, even a driver abiding by the 2-second distance rule is likely to encounter a vehicle collision. And this is especially true for motorcyclists, where high speed accidents are generally more fatal, or even regular cyclists where collisions are likely to throw a ride off their vehicle.
With the modernization of these types of vehicles the amount of information present to the user has also increased. Various readouts and gauges relating to performance communicate information to the user that can be vital to the vehicular experience. These instruments are generally located on a dashboard, or in an area that requires the user to tilt their head or almost completely shift their vision from the road to view these instruments. The instrument placement on vehicles makes it hard for the user to focus on the instruments, process the information, and then focus back on the road quickly. When the user has to temporarily remove their vision from the road or even physically reorient their head to see this information to process these instruments, the likely hood of getting into a vehicular collision is increased. If the user was able to get this driving information without having to take their eyes away from the road a much more enjoyable riding experience could be achieved.
Current devices exist that mount battery powered devices onto a user's helmet to display the driving information, but these devices provide many disadvantages. One of the largest disadvantages is that since the device mounts onto the user's helmet to display the driving information, it is highly likely to obscure the user's vision and create confusion with real world objects. Additionally, the user is unable to turn it off while operating the motorcycle as a hand would have to be taken off the steering mechanism to do such since it is always activated. Similarly, if the device becomes dislodged or disoriented during operation it can be very dangerous for the user to re-orientate the device while operating the motorcycle.